Stalked and Stolen
by CharizardMeganium
Summary: Two years after a horrifying experience, Natalia is just getting on her feet. However "just getting on her feet" translates into "I'm finally ready for my pokémon journey!" to her mother. Thrust into the outside world, Natalia teams up with her long-time friend to banish her demons once and for all. Enjoy! AU.
1. Chapter 1 : Just Another Dawn

First story! Please leave a review, follow, anything! Sorry for the short intro, chapters will be much longer after this chap. Thanks!

xXxXxXx

"I`m telling you, Natalia, this will be a great experience!" My mother screams up the stairs.

"I`m coming, mother!" I scream back.

I sit on the rotating chair in my room, suddenly unwilling to stop. It's been two years, yet I still don't like going anywhere. I remember seemingly short weeks holed up in my room, mother bringing me food, but understanding. I lost everyone who cared, it seemed. I dropped out of school, and my empty promises turned into absolutely none at all with my friends. Well, except Julia. She texts me sometimes, and I respond (more empty promises, better excuses). She withheld her Pokémon journey, just so we could start at the same time, like talked about when we were children.

I already have a packed bag, courtesy of Johanna. Items packed, clothes folded, I know I will be leaving in half an hour, maximum. Even some pokéballs, and potions. I go down the stairs, and my mother smiles, comes over, and gives me a hug.

"Have you told Julia to meet you at the lab?" Johanna asks.

"I called her last night, mother." I respond quickly.

"Are you excited? Have you already decided which pokémon you want? Oh, and don't forget to call me everyday!" My mother says.

"Yes, _mother, _I am excited, and I will call you every day. " I reply, slightly sarcastic.

I feel regret every time I use sarcasm with her, my only real supportive figure in my life, but she is fine with it, at least she has never told me to stop. I have decided on the pokémon I want. In fact, I did that 9 years ago. When I as 5, and I first found out what the three Kanto starters are, I had made my decision. Julia doesn't have a preference with pokémon, just ones with great personalities, apparently.

"I`m going to go now, and so just take care of Glameow, okay?"

Johanna frequently forgets to feed Glameow, sometimes to the point where it hunts Rattata all day in the yard, but only when she is worried, which I know she will be. I am leaving on a pokémon journey, after all!


	2. Chapter 2 : Choice And Change

The wind sweeps across my face, and I can see people rushing outside their homes to see what is going on. A Pidgeotto, or maybe even a Pidgey, could be causing the wind. I know there is a pokémon battle arena near here, and it seems to be my next destination.

When I get there, I see my conclusion was correct. A boy's Rattata is running rapidly across the ground, as the Pidgeotto uses another devastating Gust-attack, sending it flying.

"Rattata is unable to battle! Netro wins the battle!" the announcer screams over the wind.

I can hear people whispering about the battle, about the boy named Netro.

"Apparently Netro will give all the money he has to the person that can beat him! I don't know what fool would try!" An old lady tells another.

"But maybe if they had an electric pokémon, like Electabuzz, they could have an advantage!" The other whispers back.

"I don't know, it _is _a level 24 Pidgeotto..." The woman says uncertainly.

_Time to get going, _I tell myself.

* * *

The lab is much different, bookshelves placed along the walls, even a pokémon healing machine. Julia greeted me outside the lab, and we both got there at the exact same time.

"Oh, aren't you so excited? Today is _the _day!" Julia skips around the lab, only to bump into a table of empty pokéballs.

"Watch where - Oh, excuse me, ladies, I thought you were the new intern here! Whatever he does, it ends horribly! Are you two here for your first pokémon? Follow me!" Professor Oak walks to the front of the lab, to the table with three pokéballs.

I've seen this on television, and it looks exactly the same, with the exception of the fact that the pokémon are_ in_ their pokéballs.

"Have you decided yet? No? I'll leave you two here for a couple of minutes to figure it out, then!" Professor Oak walks away to another group of people, clearly scientists.

* * *

"Do you know which one you want? Oh, I can hardly wait!" Julia says.

From what I remember as a child, Julia never liked pokémon. I wonder where the new interest came from.

"Yes, I have." I say as I reach for the labeled pokéball.

"Then I will take this one," she says, as she grabs the pokéball to the right of mine.

Just then, Professor Oak walks back to us.

"Here are your Pokédex, and 10 pokéballs courtesy of the Pewter Pokémart! Good luck, you two!"

* * *

As we leave the lab, I think about all the new responsibilities of actually _having _a pokémon. I remember my mother's words.

"_Just remember, that pokémon is going to depend on you! You'll have to feed it, play with it, everything!"__  
_

_"Mother, I am not a child, whatever pokémon I choose will be kept safe , don't worry. I'll even bring it over for a visit someday."_

That was only a couple of weeks ago, when we discussed my late interest in becoming a pokémon trainer. Good thing she packed everything I could possibly need for me and my pokémon.

* * *

"Do you want to go to Viridian forest, first? I hear there are many bug-type pokémon there, and rarely a group of Pikachu!"

"How about we go through the routes leading up to Viridian Forest, so we can see some other pokémon? Rattata and Pidgey are always around," I say suddenly feeling excited, as if I was 8 years old again.

"That is a great idea!"

It probably is, because climbing the ledges that lead from Pewter City into Pallet Town, where Julia and I grew up, is extremely difficult, but going through the grass is now the best idea, even if we get ambushed by wild pokémon.

As we walk through the grass, we talk about what it would have been like if we started this journey when we were 10, not 14.

"I still think you would have been the best," we both say.

"But I can't even decide if I want to do pokémon battles or pokémon beauty contests!" I say. I thought so much about it when I was a child, weighing my options, the pros and cons, everything. I _still_ have not decided yet.

"So? You can do both. Wouldn't that be awesome? With your new pokémon, anything is -," she gets cut off, and I suddenly see why.

There is a group of Rattata, mothers and babies.

"Aren't they just so cute? I've always wanted a Rattata, anyway. I'm going to try and catch one!" Julia whispers to me.

"Julia, they are nursing, maybe you should catch one somewhere else..." I say, very nervous.

"Aww... just look at them. Aren't they just adorable? I just hope we find some elsewhere." Julia replies, and my nervousness washes away with every step we take.

* * *

"Look Julia!" I say, holding my breath so I don't scream.

"Yes! A Rattata! Go Bulbasaur!" Julia screams, and her pokémon jumps out of its ball.

"Bulba! Bulba!"

"Bulbasaur, use tackle!" She says, and Bulbasaur runs up, and hits the Rattata.

"Again, go!" She says to her pokémon, and the Rattata flies back closer to Julia, clearly exhausted.

"Go, pokéball!" Julia screams as she throws her pokéball at the weak pokémon. It does little to resist, and in seconds, is captured in the pokéball.

"Yes! I finally have a Rattata!" she says to me.

"Nice job," I say. "We should take it back to the pokécenter in Pewter."

"Right," she says. "We have to go through Viridian Forest, first, remember?"

* * *

"You know, I still haven't seen your pokémon yet," she says.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Go Charmander!"

* * *

Good chapter? Leave a like or a review, and feel free to follow the story!

Anyway, extremely sorry for any errors of any kind, I am writing these on my old laptop/netbook which is painfully slow, and doesn't have much punctuation (I have to copy and paste the ' sign but not the é sign).

Thank you for reading!

xXxXx Lily


	3. Chapter 3 : Viridian Nuisance

Hey! Just wanted to say, to minimize confusion (Damn you, Abra) the issue Natalia addresses is _not _the issue I talked about in the summary, however, it it related. Enjoy this super late chapter of Stalked And Stolen.

* * *

The orange dragon leaps out of it's ball and looks around, then back at me. With a depressed face.

"It probably thought you were taking it out for a battle. Charmander _love_ to show off, right?" Julia offers.

"You're right, I almost forgot about that. Do you think we could make it to Pewter City? It is getting a little dark," I reply, laughing at my sad Charmander.

"We could train until it gets darker, and then stay in the Viridian pokécenter. Your Charmander is going to love tomorrow, though. Imagine how easy it will be to cross the forest with a fire-type pokémon!"

"Maybe, but it doesn't even know any fire-type attacks. Scratch and Smokescreen are the only attacks it knows," I say.

"Well, maybe it will learn Ember, or another fire-type attack. Look at it, trying to make a fire. Well, it isn't really working, but..." she trails off, still looking at it.

"I guess so. We should go into the training arena now. We still have a couple of hours left to train our pokémon." I say, already heading into the direction of the tall grass.

We can already see the large amount of trainers there, and we're about 100 meters away from it. Trainers are summoning their pokémon, and others have them sitting on their trainer's shoulders, positioned to attack. Both of our pokémon are at our feet, excited to start their training.

"Should we split up? Your Bulbasaur looks like he wants to cut the grass down with it's vines, and it will scare pokémon away." I say and smile at her Bulbasaur.

" Are you sure, the people here all want to battle, and they look tough." She replies, unsure of the idea.

"Okay, just make sure he keeps his vines to _himself_," I say.

" As long as your Charmander doesn't burn the forest down first," That comment sends us both into laughter.

"Well, let's get started then!" I say.

* * *

"Keep using scratch!" I yell at my pokémon. Well, a nice kind of yell.

The Pidgey keeps dodging, and I can see Charmander's frustration.

"Wait until it gets on the ground, then use scratch again!" I say. Julia sighs, and I can see why. This battle is the longest we've had, and we should have left _before_ this battle.

Charmander uses another scratch attack, and this one hits, but doesn't take out the Pidgey.

"Alright, I've had enough! Go Bulbasaur!" She says, and I may have laughed a little at her impatience. Maybe, if I wasn't so enraged at this Pidgey.

"Use Vine Whip and hold Pidgey!"

"And keep using scratch on it!" I yell, and all goes accordingly.

"Do you think I should catch it?" I ask.

"That? Its _so_ stubborn. You think you can teach it anything, well, I wouldn't bet on it."

I'm unsure, but think of my Glameow at home. She was a stray, only a kitten. Wouldn't listen to anything me or my mother said. Honestly, all we did with her at first was watch her eat the pokémon food we gave her. But, later, rather than sooner, my mother started training her. Teaching her what to do at home, and teaching her how to battle. In fact, she has saved me before.

I was only a child, maybe five or six, and my mother and father, still married, were having a falling out. Screaming about things I didn't understand at the time, or remember now. When things had cooled down, she left, for reasons I, again, don't remember. However, when she came back, neither my father nor I were there.

She called the police, and they set out to find me. Sadly, days passed, and no help came. I know I was kept at my father's friend's cabin. Somewhere in Ilex Forest. Ilex Forest in Johto. The officers knew that his boss was renting his cabin, and my father had bought it. My mother bought tickets for the next day. That was when the investigation stopped.

"We cannot do anything in another region, Mrs. Letton. We wish all the best for your daughter's safety, but now the Johto police will investigate this further," was what the officer said.

Glameow couldn't be left alone, so she went with my mother. When they found the cabin, they had to somehow get me safely. So she made a plan. Glameow was to stand outside the door, while Johanna summoned her other pokémon, Growlithe and Persian, to hold him back while she searched for me.

Somehow, he had summoned his pokémon, which easily thrashed hers, as he was a Fighting-type gym leader, once. When my mother found me, she lead me out, only to be stopped by my father. The only part of that my mother told me about was Glameow. She had _finally _done something useful. She was around 2 years old then, already showing signs of evolving into Purugly. She had gained weight, her face becoming rounder. She fought back, and learned Confusion. Knocked out his pokémon, my father, _and _my mother. She ended up carrying them to the pokécenter in the next city. He was arrested, we went back to Pallet Town.

My mother always says now, "I am _telling _you, it was all those Abra in the yard! Must have endlessly bothered her."

That was when I learned it was possible to teach other pokémon moves it doesn't normally learn by itself. I thought it was fake, something put on television, to entertain people. Clearly it wasn't. Pokémon do these things when under stress, of some sort.

Catch it or not? The question still needs to be answered. I'll vote for yes.

I throw the pokéball at the rage filled pokémon, and it disappears inside the ball. Bulbasaur is summoned back to it's pokéball, and the Pidgey is captured.

"Finally!" Julia says. "Now lets get _out _of here!"

* * *

A/N: Did you like the story of Glameow? Once I was halfway through, I was wondering if I should write it in flash back form, but decided against it. And _yes_ I know that Growlithe is a dog/fire pokémon, and Persian and Glameow are cat/normal pokémon. Review?


	4. Chapter 4 : Training In Tow

**A/N:**

**ArchXDeath: Whoa! Thanks for your _very, very_ long review. To answer your questions, in order:**

**She is fourteen because of her '_traumatic event'. _Normal journeys start at age 10, when a trainer can finally get their trainers' license, and, in the first chapter, says Natali_a_ (not Natalie, although I do know someone with the name Natalie) spends 2 years getting past her, well, past. So, the _traumatic event_, must have lasted 2 years (eg. two year coma. Not going to happen, though.). Secondly, yes, now the story will focus a _lot _more on her training, and Julia. Next chapters will be longer,this one is about 1500 words long. Yashaskar, please PM me if you need any help on your fanfics, instead of as a review. I also capitalize moves (Tackle, Razor Leaf, Ember), types (Grass, Fire, Water), et cetera. I know it isn't correct grammatically, but I am still going to use it. Lastly, some of the gyms will be _new. _In the anime, Ash meets trainers with different badges than him. One had four in common, four different. Another had eight completely different badges. All in all, there is a minimum of 27 different gyms in the Kanto region(Did I teach you something?). For that reason, I thought it would be cool to have one or two of the last gyms new. And I will add a texture for the new badge(s) (It will be in the fanfic picture.). Fist bump!**

* * *

Me and Julia wake up around 6 a.m., in one of the pokécenter rooms. I remember my mother, and give her a short call. When we are both ready, we realize it is slightly too early to leave, and talk for a while.

"Are you going to challenge the gym leader in Pewter?" I ask Julia.

"Yeah, it will probably be easy anyway, my Bulbasaur has grown a lot, and I have a type advantage. Will you?" She replies.

"I've been thinking about it, and I don't think so. I have a type disadvantage with Charmander and Pidgey, so it will be really hard. I was thinking of trying to find a Grass or Fighting-type pokémon. If I did, then I would consider it again, but I don't think so. We should probably get going, we have to cross Viridian Forest by the end of today." l answer.

We leave the pokécenter, and head in the direction of Viridian Forest.

"Would you want to catch a Pikachu?" Julia asks while we enter the forest.

"If I were to come across one I would catch it, but it wouldn't really help me. Ground pokémon are completely immune to Electric attacks," I say.

"But there are plenty of Water and Flying-type pokémon in Kanto. You could catch one for after Pewter City. Electric pokémon are some of the best pokémon because of their type," she says back.

"Well, I would catch one, but they are rare, so it isn't that likely. Although they are adorable," I say and laugh. She does too.

"So are you going to build your entire team on 'adorable' pokémon?" she asks, joking.

"Oh yes, only a full team of Jigglypuff or Clefairy. That's it. Nothing else. Not even Charmander, here," I say back. We both laugh.

"Have you decided your future team?" I ask, turning the conversation serious again. That's a habit of mine, and I don't have a very good sense of humor to people I don't know very well or like.

"I'm just going to catch what interests me. Pokémon I like, I catch. I'll leave filling the pokédex to you. Do you have yours figured out yet? You _always_ plan ahead. Remember school?" she says. "It was so annoying when you would have all your work finished for a project before the due date, and you basically sat in class doing _nothing _while the rest of us did our work?"

"Well, not finishing my work just stresses me out. Complete opposite for you, though. You would ask me to come over to finish _your _work. On the day before it was due," I say. "Totally not fair."

"Well its not like you had anything else to do, what with your _large _amount of friends," she says back. Julia would always make jokes about that when we were in school. We hung out all the time, even if I had other friends. Julia was my best friend, I was also friends with Julia's friends, but not as much. Barely_, _in fact.

"Of course, whatever you say, Julia. Anyway, I was thinking of adding an Gastly, Abra or Kadabra to my team. But those are all very hard to catch, Gastly are basically invisible, and Abra and Kadabra Teleport whenever they know someone is close," I smile and say back.

"Unless they are asleep. Abra sleep, like, 18 hours every day. If you find one, it's likely it will be asleep. Or you could paralyze it, or put it to sleep if it is awake. See? Jigglypuff and Pikachu would be useful for those things!" Julia says excitedly.

"What is it with you and Pikachu?" I ask rhetorically, still smiling.

We enter the forest, and see the small, almost invisible path that leads to Pewter City. It runs through the tall grass, where pokémon are hiding, ready to attack us. We summon our pokémon, Rattata and Charmander.

"Why aren't you using your Bulbasaur? It is immune to poison, and there are lots of Weedle here," I ask, slightly confused.

"Maybe, but this Rattata hasn't had any training," she replies.

"But pokémon might disobey you. They gain respect for you if you have badges, right?" I say.

"Well, I'll try to train it, anyway. Maybe it will listen," she says, her confidence in Rattata slightly lessened.

We have many battles, and our pokémon do look stronger. We even have some dual battles, and our pokémon are still in perfect shape.

"Do you think we should try and get our pokémon to evolve?" Julia asks me.

"I think my Charmander is close," I say. "It's skin is more red, and it's hands have grown claws. Now if only it would learn a Fire-type attack."

"It will,"she says. "It has to, right? It isn't possible for it to _not _learn Ember, or Flamethrower?"

"I haven't heard of anything like that, so I am assuming not. She can make fires, but she can't control them," I tell her.

"Well, lets train some more. I'll go fight wild pokémon, you should help Charmander to control its fire," she says, then yells as the distance between us grows.

"Okay, Charmander, lets see you breathe fire!" I say, looking at my pokémon.

It makes an attempt, but the fire only goes an inch or two out of her mouth. Her tail is blazing, so I don't know what is wrong.

"You just keep trying, Charmander." We train for the next hour, and the flame now goes about 6 inches from her face. Not bad, for a day of training.

Julia comes back, excitedly talking about her Rattata's progress, and I tell her about Charmander's new ability.

"Let's head into Pewter City, then," she says, calling Rattata back into it's pokéball, and bringing out Bulbasaur.

We leave the forest, fighting only a small amount of Caterpie before reaching Pewter City.

"Yes! We're finally here!" Julia yells, getting a couple trainers' attention.

We engage in some battles with the bug trainers, my Charmander being able to use Ember in the last one. It seems extremely happy, I can see it wants to show off more. Some people have gathered around us, my Charmander breathing fire around, and some of the people jealous of her.

Not all trainers start off with Charmander, Bulbasaur or Squirtle. If they have formed some kind of friendship with a pokémon, sometimes they use it as their starter. Or the lab is just too far away from where they live, and their parents give them a pokémon for their 10th birthday. Good thing I live in Pallet town. One of many perks of living in the smallest town in the region, is that the pokémon labs are always in that town.

My Charmander gives me a smile, and I return it to its pokéball. The crowd diminishes until only Julia and I remain. We head to the pokécenter, heal our pokémon, and then find a room for the night. Tomorrow Julia will challenge Brock, the Rock-type Pewter City gym leader.

But for now, sleep.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so I don't think anyone got the authors note joke in the beginning of the third chapter (Damn you, Abra). Glameow learned Confusion because of the Abra in the yard. Go back and check it out :). Fell free to like, follow, or review. Remember, reviews are like chocolate, addictive for the soul.**

**xXxXx Lily**


	5. Chapter 5 : Quiet Rustling

**A/N: So an estimated 250 people have read this story, and about 100 read it regularly. Please, if you like the story, leave a comment! **

* * *

We make our way into the gym, still amazed by it's beautiful design. Both of us have seen this gym and many others on television, but seeing it in real life is much more breathtaking. Julia signs her name on the waiting list, and we take a seat in the stadium.

We see multiple trainers face Brock, only one of them winning the Boulder badge. Her team consisted of a Mankey, and a Vulpix. She sat down next to me.

"How was it?" I asked her.

"It was fun. I'm waiting for my best friend, Jasmine, to get the badge. She is an amazing trainer, but I can only hope she gets the badge. She'll need 8, and our route doesn't cross other cities with gyms. If she doesn't get this badge, we won't make it in time for the Pokémon League!" she says, watching as the next train makes his way across the field, sighing when she realizes it isn't her friend.

"Where did you get your pokémon? I've never seen a trainer in Pewter have a Mankey or a Vulpix," I whisper back. I have visited this city once or twice, as my mother and I used to love the museum, but ever since Team Rocket stole the pokémon fossils and amber, the museum doesn't really have anything interesting to see anymore.

"Haven't you been to Route 22? It is filled with Mankey and Rattata, and the occasional Spearow. Just head back from Viridian Forest to Viridian City and find the route near Route 2. My parents gave me Vulpix as my starter pokémon. She has been in my family as a starter for generations!" she says. "What pokémon do you have?"

"I have a Charmander and a Pidgey," I reply.

"You know, Fighting-type moves are very effective against Rock-type pokémon. You should get a Mankey if you want to beat Brock. Oh, look! Jasmine! I'm Lavender, by the way. See you around!" She waves over to someone leaving the stadium. Clearly, it is her traveling partner. Jasmine holds up the badge she just recently won, and smiles at Lavender.

* * *

Julia's battle ends swiftly, and we exit the stadium. She leads me to the pokécenter, about a couple of minutes away. A couple of minutes, made longer by Julia's need to talk _all _about her victory.

When we get there, Nurse Joy takes our pokémon and leads us to the waiting room.

"So, where to next?" She asks eagerly._  
_

I pull my map out from my orange pack, and talk as I trace my finger across the map, the invisible line which is our future path.

"We walk through Route 3 to Mount Moon, and then to Route 4 to Cerulean City. All I know of that gym is that the leader's name is Misty," I say.

Nurse Joy comes back after I finish speaking, and hands us our pokémon.

"Are you two going to Mount Moon? You should go now, or get a room for the night."

"We were planning on going before nightfall," Julia says, attaching her pokéballs to her belt. "Do you know if Route 3 will be busy around this time?"

"Usually that Route is busy a couple days before and after the monthly gym battle. Most of the contestants will be hanging around there after all the battles are done."

"Then we should be on our way!" I say, smiling as I walk with Julia out the doors. There is no Pokécenter or Pokémart in Pallet town. Seeing pokémon that aren't Rattata or Pidgey is _extremely _rare. In fact, when we do see those kind of pokémon, it's because trainers, usually successful trainers, come to visit if they have family that live in Pallet Town. Unlikely.

Thinking about the lack of pokémon, I remember my team. _How do I even _think _I can get past Mount Moon if my pokémon are so weak to Rock attacks?_ As far as I know, not many new kinds of pokémon live before Mount Moon, only past it. _I wish I had a water type._

"Julia, has anyone you know ever passed Mount Moon? Particularly with a type disability?"

"Well, my aunt did teach a Nidoran to use Water Gun. I remember she told me that the pokémon there were actually _scared _of her. But I don't know where to find any Nidoran, let alone teach it any moves," she says.

We walk through Route 3, the occasional pokémon jumping out and attacking us. They ground has noticeably turned from grass to rough dirt, then completely to jagged rock. The entrance of the cave is small, we have to crouch to enter.

Next to the opening is a small cave, which leads to a tunnel, where we have to crouch, _again_, before exiting in a huge room. The rocks on the ceiling of the cave are pointing down, the bare look of icicles. I bring Charmander out of its pokéball, the light on it's tail illuminating an area around us. Julia brings out Bulbasaur. It doesn't stay very close to Charmander, and for good reason.

The cave is quiet, there is not even the movement of a Zubat's wings.

"Why is it so quiet in here? This is, like, really creepy!" Julia whispers.

_You aren't the one with the anxiety disorder,_ I think, and the thought almost leaves my mouth. _Too long without my family to help me control my mouth, I guess._

Well, too long without all of my family. My brother and sisters left at different times for their pokémon journeys. My eldest sibling, Audrey, has an anxiety disorder. She was too overprotective, and over reactive. She woke me up every Saturday and Sunday at 6:00 am when my parents weren't home, and made me stay up until they came home. She just wanted to know I was safe. My other sister, a year older than me, refused to wake up. I didn't want Audrey to worry, so I stayed awake with her. No school, having to watch my sister do boring things around the house, distracting her. Thus grew my hatred for weekends, and always waking up at exactly 6:00 am every day. I was five years old at the time, and that lasted until around my tenth birthday.

Not long after, I realized I too had anxiety problems. I didn't tell anyone. My first time riding shotgun in a car? I was having a panic attack. With my mother driving. I keep my emotions together, never let anyone realize how afraid I am.

"I don't know. Maybe they're sleeping? I _really_ don't know," I say, just grateful that the pokémon are leaving us alone. We stop after walking for about an hour, and take some food out of our packs.

"We should eat quickly. The pokémon might come back, or wake up, or... whatever they're doing, it isn't really helping!"

"You know what I can't wait for? When you finally see an Ariados!"

"Hey! I thought that was supposed to stay between us!" Julia yells.

"What are you talking about? We're all _alone_, remember?" I reply, amusement lacing into my features.

"If I ever hear you tell someone that, I will kill you. Period."

"What? Your _phobia_ of -' Julia then pushes me down to the floor, light anger on her face.

"So not funny. Really. You know those things creep me out!" She says, desperate to stop the conversation.

* * *

We make it out of the cave with minimal distractions hours later, the only thing abnormal about the trip was Julia's need to talk about how _quiet _or _scary_ it was. Come to think about it, her talking non-stop isn't very abnormal.

The second we step out of the cave, we can tell that there is an event going on. A stage has been laid out on the grass, seats everywhere, but most importantly, there are at least a hundred people here, and five on the stage.

It seems that they are still setting up when we walk up to someone to ask them what is going on.

"Haven't you heard, girl?" A middle aged man tells me. "Why, welcome to the Second Annual Moon Stone Competition!"

* * *

**A/N: I removed the last couple of chapters, and restarted. I know this is highly unprofessional, but I really did not like the way the story was going. If you did not see it before, and are reading this as I RE-POST THIS, I am sick, and took down the author's note for that. So sorry for the long delay. I read fanfic long before I wrote it, and I know what it feels like. Actually, my best friend made me make a StumbleUpon account. One of my interests was writing, and it reminded me that I am basically being an a$$ by _not_ writing, even if I am sick.**

**I don't know how you guys will like what happens next, but stay tuned (I guess?). Jasmine in this fic is actually Jasmine in the games, the one who goes on to be a Steel-type pokémon gym leader. I know she doesn't have either of those pokémon. Deal with it :D.**

**Okay, another update. This is an excuse, but I feel like I should at least tell you what happened. My internet is screwed up and it still isn't fixed. I wasn't planning on even writing this, but I did. At the library. And my two other sisters where there. I had to save the document every five seconds when someone came by. (It was super awkward.) Yeah, I thought I would suffer for you. Anyway, I was discharged from the hospital! Yay me!**

**And the laptop I have at home that I write with is an Acer Aspire, in case you think I don't really have a horrible laptop. I can even take pictures to verify it. I'm all out of cheese :( No cheese requests.**

**One last thing. Let us all remember the fact, the sad, very very sad conclusion that I have reached. The only non-OC character in my fic other than Jasmine is Nurse Joy. You may now laugh and continue hating me for my late chapter.**


	6. Chapter 6 : The Event Begins

**A/N: Yes! I am BACK, baby! :) Enjoy this chapter, courtesy of moi. I'm kidding Lily was taken by aliens and we hacked her FanFiction account. Huahahahaha. Can I have some alien juice, **_por favor? _

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It's only moments later that the man realizes we have absolutely no idea about what he is talking about, and explains.

"The Moon Stone Competition is a contest that was established last year. In fact, if the winner wants the prize, he must agree to come back and host the contest the next year. Last year, a young chap named Charles won. He's hosting with the Clefairy he found last year.

"Anyway, there are two parts to the contest. In the first, two very special stones are hidden in the cave. Most of the pokémon have retreated to lower cave levels because of the noise, but the Clefairy are lured out because of the full moon, which is tonight. The objective is to find one the the stones. If you find one, you must stop searching and return here, where the staff will verify your find.

"After you have found a stone, you must use it to lure and catch a Clefairy. If you both find one in the time limit, you are to have a battle. The winner gets to keep their Clefairy, both Moon Stones, and half of all the entry fees, which is 50 Pokédollars per person.

"If you do consider entering, you are only allowed to have one pokémon on hand, and must travel alone. All other pokémon must stay behind to be watched by staff and other pokémon, or sent to a lab by a transferring machine. Any other questions?"

"I think we'll be fine, thank you," I finish. He walks away, back to the stage and starts talking to another staff member.

The people watching look very excited, and some are even trading their pokémon. Some have there pokémon of choice next to them, training. The other people have their pokémon surrounding them, all trying to impress their trainers. Most of the pokémon here are Fire-types.

"Are you still going to enter? It won't be very easy to see where you're going."

"But Bulbasaur will be able to defeat any stray pokémon, and won't attract attention. And the cave was completely empty today, just when we were going to cross. We need to thank the pokémon gods by entering," she jokes.

"Well, I think we should go sign up, then!"

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Before this journey, almost everything scared me. Now, I realize that it is helping. Walking around a pitch-black cave the size of the pokémon lab in Pallet Town? I never would have done it. Now, it's a different story.

Once Julia and I signed up, we waited for the announcements, which only took about half an hour. They explained where we would start, what to do if you where in trouble and other seemingly pointless things. Well, except one. If you bumped into someone else, you had to battle them. The loser has to leave the competition. There are cameras everywhere, and if someone cheats, they leave the competition.

But they _did_ make the competition fair. The pokémon you went in with could not be evolved, able to evolve at least once, and could not have a type that was not Normal, Fire, Flying, Grass, Water, Electric, Ground, Rock, or Bug.

About an hour after we talked to the man, we were stationed inside the cave, right next to the entrance, lining the walls. Apparently, last year, everyone was outside the cave, and when the event started, everyone raced to the small opening, hurting many people and pokémon in the process. Half the people didn't even get to take part, and were taken to hospitals.

Julia stands directly to my left, but when the announcer screams _Go! _everyone scatters, running in all different directions, summoning their pokémon after they are some distance away from their competitors. I wait until everyone has left the wall, and summon Charmander. She makes the fire on her tail brighter, a skill she has only recently learned, and begins looking.

What does this stone even look like? It it colorful or dull? Sharp or smooth? I probably should have asked somebody before.

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Half an hour later, it's announced that the first stone has been found. That person must be really proud of themselves. Charmander doesn't look the least bit exhausted, and neither am I, which is a relief. We search for a while longer, until we see two trainers battling, and hide far away so they don't see us. I bring Charmander back to it's pokéball.

There is a man and a woman, both with Fire-Type pokémon. I can see one is a Ponyta, but the other one is just a shadow. Ponyta uses Ember, but it is clear that it isn't effective. The mysterious pokémon tackles Ponyta, and it isn't quick enough to dodge. The pokémon stumbles back, but the only effect of the attack is that it looks slightly... Dizzy?

Ponyta swerves and stumbles again, the attack doing more damage than it seemed like. But I don't want to be it's next target, and run in the opposite direction.

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**A/N: I know that this space is usually reserved for me to complain, but I have lots of things that probably won't interest you:**

1. **My computer has a virus. I bought a game called **FATE : Undiscovered Realms** two years ago on Christmas. It included the first version of the game for free, so I played that one first, and now I remembered that there was a second one. I downloaded it, and BOOM... virus. Anyway since the game is** _spyware free... guaranteed!_** I was wondering (The game is from WildTangent) if any of you guys know if I could get a download of the second game online for free since my copy is infected (I bought it from Amazon, so I don't have a receipt, but I do have the original packaging). AND does anyone have the game? It would be nice for someone to send me a legit version of it :).**

**2. Updates will be scarce since this is mostly my sister's Acer Aspire and I get it once every 3 days, for the whole day. I really love writing, so most of my time will be diverted to this on those days.**

**3. Leave a review? They make me happy :)**


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